Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Moving Right Along (again)....

I've been busy since the last post; and too tired by the time I collapse to write. (That's why I missed a couple of days.)

The glass is done, and safely sent off, and I'm turning back to Second Life, and some of the stuff that I've been working on there.

As some of you know, I've been doing Skins for the Avatars. By skins, I mean actual skins; you know, fake epidermis. :D

Most of the skins in Second Life have a lot of makeup on them. In fact, almost all the women's skins have some makeup. At least, when I was looking for one, I didn't find one that didn't (although I haven't looked at every single skin in world, so I can't say categorically that none of them do.)

But I don't wear makeup in Real Life, and I didn't want it in Second Life either, so I designed a skin for myself, and it kind of grew from there. Most of the skins I sell have makeup, because most of the women (or people playing women) in Second Life want it. But I also include a skin without any, for the few like me, who don't want it.

A few days ago, I was approached by Marianne McCann, who plays a child in Second Life, and asked about making skins for SL Kids.

So I've spent the last couple of days, when I wasn't working on other things, learning about SL Kids, and why an adult would choose to play a child in a place like Second Life.

Marianne herself says it best. She wrote a wonderful notecard, explaining all of it. In the essay, she reminds the reader of the Twilight Zone episode, "Kick the Can" and explains that's what the SL Kids are doing ... letting their Inner Child out to play.

So I did, and had a blast! I recommend it to everyone; even if you don't want to be a six-year-old all the time, it's lots of fun to take a break as one. (Like I'm doing, here. :D )

So I'm now prepared to do skins for kids. (Among other things, I had to see how the skins fit on a kid, so I would know where they need to be altered.) They don't need much, so I hope to have them done soon.

If there are any adults playing children in SL for immoral purposes, they are a tiny minority. If any do exist, though, I'm not inclined to make stuff for them. So the skins I'm making will have underware built in. (That will probably take longer than any of the rest of the tweaks. :D ) For use in bathing suits, and stuff like that, where underware might show, I'll make a version of the skin, to sell in each package, that is as anatomically accurate as the average little girl's doll. Which is to say, totally blank.